Illinois' Bench `Sub'par

Heat Is On Freshmen To Start Contributing

CHAMPAIGN — Now that Lou Henson has thrown in the crying towel on the Big 10 season, can a concession speech concerning the NCAA tournament be far behind?

After all, wherever the Illinois coach turns when he needs help, as he did at crucial catchup opportunities during Saturday night's 75-67 loss to Michigan State, his options are limited to inexperience.

The Illini have no dependable sixth man, let alone the luxury of a seventh. Without a bench to rescue a faulty starter, Illinois is fated to live and die on its top five.

And those guys can be good occasionally, but rarely great. Henson has no talent close to Shawn Respert, the Spartans guard whose scoring prowess from all ranges made the difference in a game that "hung in the balance," as MSU coach Jud Heathcote noted, right to the final minute.

So, without a fallback position, is it any wonder that Henson wants sympathy? Frustrated as he was after failing to beat the Spartans and grab a share of first place in the Big 10, he aired his dirty laundry in public so alumni could start to accept that this year's league championship isn't in Illinois' plans.

"When I go to the bench, I go to freshmen," Henson stressed.

His three primary subs Saturday were freshmen from Chicago: Jerry Gee from St. Martin de Porres and Simeon's Bryant Notree and Kevin Turner.

The highly regarded Notree logged only 8 minutes. He scored two points, missed his only three-point try and the 6-foot-5-inch guard never grabbed a rebound in a game the Spartans outrebounded Illinois 36-22.

Gee, also touted to be a star, struggled more noticeably than Notree only because Henson played this 6-7 forward 18 minutes. He had four defensive rebounds, but stood out more for the one he didn't get to close the first half. Spartans center Jamie Feick ignored the fact Gee had position on him and went over for a clean rebound and follow basket to cut Illinois' lead to three points.

Gee also was 0 of 3 at the foul line as Illinois' free throw shooting woes continued. The team couldn't even match its terrible 63 percent totals of the season, going 7 of 15.

The only statistic in which Notree, Gee and Turner excelled was fouls. Despite their limited playing time, they still managed to total seven fouls among them, led by Turner's three.

"We're frustrated, disappointed," said senior leader Shelly Clark, whose 22 points were determined, but not enough. "I think we got cocky after starting 4-0 and relaxed. We've got to get back to our level."

And that level, as Henson can tell, isn't a championship level. This is a team that, despite a decent record (13-6, 4-3), is already playing for next season, NCAA tournament bid or not.